Following the sudden and headline-grabbing resignation of Miss USA, the organization plans to crown 2023 runner-up Savannah Gankiewicz on Wednesday, until a new queen is chosen in three months. She will retain that title, but it will take place in her home state of Hawaii.
But the resignations will not only create a new Miss USA, but will also include this year’s contestants, including Miss Michigan Alma Cooper, who is not only a Miss Michigan representative but also an active-duty Army officer and West Point graduate. The harsh eyes of a contest that poses new challenges to those who participate in the contest have been unleashed. .
Until recently, no Miss USA pageant title holder had resigned voluntarily.
The Free Press left a message seeking comment with Alma Cooper, who is currently in a difficult position.
“We’re rooting for Alma,” Okemos mother Oralia Cooper texted the Free Press this week, saying she and her husband, Stacey Cooper, are excited for their daughter to represent the state. She added that she knows she will do her best and is looking forward to the Miss USA organization. Address your concerns. ”
So far, the contest has answered few questions.
“It is important to remember that every individual involved in a high-profile event like this is on their own personal journey,” the pageant said on its website, adding that the organization “ “We are committed to fostering a healthy, communicative and supportive environment for our contestants.” State title holders, national title holders, and staff involved in the Miss USA organization, that is our mission. ”
While Miss USA’s recent statements were primarily focused on reintroducing Gankiewicz to the public until a new Miss USA is chosen this summer, local and national news outlets raised concerns Avoided problems with Miss USA. Among them was an important question: “Why did Miss USA suddenly resign?” ?
The statement also did not directly address the additional resignations of Miss Teen USA Umasofia Srivastava, Miss Colorado Ariana Lemus, and social media director Claudia Michel. He also did not answer questions posed by the press about the organization’s internal affairs.
more:Miss Michigan USA 2024 Alma Cooper is a military officer and mathematician.
The Miss USA Pageant was conceived by Catalina, a swimwear brand that sponsored the Miss America Pageant, and 1951 Miss America winner Yolande Betvedze (later Yolande Fox) advertised in a swimsuit. After he refused to have his photo taken, a new contest was started.
The Washington Post quoted Foxx, who died in 2016, as saying, “I’m a singer, not a pin-up.” In Fox’s obituary, the Post wrote that after she announced that she would not be seen in a swimsuit, Catalina’s agent once became furious, looked at her and swore, Start my own contest. ”
dueling pageant vision
Those who study American pageants point out that American pageants have long been associated with feminism, commercialism, and, more recently, scandal.
According to historians, beauty pageants were advertised in newspapers in the 1850s. And by the 1910s, suffragists (those who argued that women should have the right to vote) held a contest to highlight women’s contributions to America.
Author and University of Miami history professor Kimberly Hamlin writes that women wore sashes during these contests, and the tradition continues today. At that time, sashes often had characteristics of characters representing their aspirations, such as “courage,” written on them.
Then, in 1921, a contest was held in Atlantic City, New Jersey. One theory is that this was intended to increase the newspaper’s readership and attract more people, especially men, to the beach in late summer. The event eventually turned into the Miss America pageant and was filled with product sponsors.
But in Miss America, two competing versions of the women’s pageant emerged, Hamlin said. One contest celebrated suffragettes seeking equal rights, and the other promoted “outdated and stifling ideals.” In the end, the latter won, the professor concluded.
By 1952, controversy over whether the Miss America winner had to pose in a swimsuit led to a competing breakaway pageant, Miss USA, and over the years, conglomerates Gulf & Western, ITT It has been owned by various owners, including the Corporation. , and former President Donald Trump.
And in 1968, the Miss America protests sparked what Smithsonian magazine called a “feminist revolution.” The demonstrators were not only protesting “outdated misogynistic attitudes toward women and beauty,” but also the way women are treated in the United States as a whole.
1968 pageant protests
The magazine detailed that the organizers of the protest had submitted a document listing their objections.
Many of the protesters called themselves feminists and objected to the “demeaning and thoughtless boob girly symbol.” They objected to the pageant’s blatant racism, particularly the fact that “no woman of color had ever won, and no black contestant had ever won.”
They rejected “the military-industrial complex and Miss America’s role as a ‘mascot of death’ to entertain the military.” They decried “the consumerist nature of corporate sponsorship of pageants and the valorization of beauty as a measure of a woman’s worth.”
They rejected the double standard that “contestants are forced to be ‘sexy yet wholesome, sensitive but available, reserved but titillatingly mean.'” And they rejected. , challenged the notion that women are encouraged to be empty and are often portrayed as such.
Still, some contestants have proven that pageants can empower women.
Feminist role models who have competed in the pageant include media mogul Oprah Winfrey. The two actresses who played Wonder Woman were Lynda Carter and Gal Gadot. Jennifer Granholm, the U.S. Secretary of Energy, is also the first woman to be elected governor of Michigan.
Additionally, over the years, the contest has undergone changes.
They are now crowned representing a variety of races, ethnicities, and other backgrounds.
In 2019, in what was hailed as a historic first, Black women won all five major pageants: Miss Teen USA, Miss America, Miss USA, Miss Universe, and Miss World. Miss America removed the swimsuit portion, and Miss USA did away with the old concept of “Miss” and allowed married women to participate.
However, it remains subject to considerable scrutiny.
A “much darker” problem
Last year, the New York Times released a documentary cleverly titled “How to Fix a Pageant” that investigated sexual harassment accusations and the fraudulent 2022 Miss USA pageant. The 48-minute documentary is currently live streaming on Hulu and features former Miss Michigan Taylor Hale.
The documentary also examines broader questions about the pageant business, including news reports pointing to sex scandals, declining television ratings for pageants and harsh criticism that they are no longer relevant.
Regarding the recent Miss USA scandal, initial reports stated that Noelia Vogt, the first Venezuelan-American woman to win the title, had resigned from the Miss USA title to prioritize her mental health. quickly developed into a major problem.
Vogt posted a statement on Instagram that CNN described as a “long and cryptic post that cited her mental state,” but may also have contained mysterious hidden messages. The first letter of the first 11 sentences of her post is “I am silent,” she wrote. . ”
Another title holder has since resigned.
Srivastava, an 11th grade student who plans to attend college, represented New Jersey in Miss Teen USA. She also released her statement on Instagram, saying her own values were “completely no longer aligned” with the direction of her organization.
Additionally, Stephanie Skinner, the runner-up of last year’s Miss Teen USA pageant, said on Instagram that she declined to replace Srivastav “in light of recent events,” raising further questions about the titleholder’s resignation. Ta.
Skinner, who represented New York in the Teen USA competition, said she is looking to pursue a world-class research job in Thailand. She said she sends “immeasurable love” to the outgoing title holders and that her “core values are integrity, honor and kindness” and that she will always “empower women.” She added that she would support
Lemus, who represented Colorado in the 2023 Miss USA pageant, also resigned and called for immediate reform.
She also posted a statement on Instagram saying that the “vast majority of members of the Miss USA Class of 2023” supported Vogt’s decision and called for Vogt to be released from his non-disclosure agreement. She also called for “full transparency for contestants from 2024 onwards.”
On Friday, The New York Times reported that it had obtained an eight-page “internal resignation letter” that Vogt sent to contest leadership, revealing that the private letter was “much darker” than originally thought. It was characterized by concern.
The paper complained that Voigt had delayed organizers from benefiting from her winnings, and said her reign had been a toxic environment of “sloppy management at best and bullying and harassment at worst.” He reportedly said he was working.
soldier’s dilemma
A potential challenge for Cooper and future contestants, especially those who may serve in the military, is that in addition to representing themselves, their families, and their home state, the contest’s reputation may be a threat to them and their This will also be reflected in the group you belong to. Connected.
Before her resignation, the West Point Alumni Association praised Cooper as “the first active-duty military officer to compete in the Miss Michigan USA pageant” and said that during her time at West Point, she “has led and mentored middle school and high school students.” A discussion of ethical leadership. ”
West Point’s dean and Army general added that the academy is excited to have Cooper represent the university.
But since Cooper is no longer a cadet, West Point on Tuesday morning referred the Free Press to the Department of the Army for comment. The Army also reviewed the matter, and he told the Free Press that he had no intention of commenting.
By all accounts, Cooper has an excellent academic record and a promising future in the Army, but he also faces challenges. Misconduct or perceived misconduct within her USA organization may pose an ethical dilemma for her.
West Point and the military have very high standards compared to most other institutions. They also have high expectations for graduates and soldiers not only to be promoted, but also to avoid individuals and organizations that do not promote.
For example, the military academy’s honor code requires cadets not only to behave according to the rules, but also not to tolerate those who break them. And, as another example, the Soldier’s Creed requires her to “live the Army values” of loyalty, duty, respect, selfless service, honor, integrity, and personal courage.
So what’s Cooper to do?
Is she staying away from the fray? Do you use your pageant status to speak up for others? Or resign from the title?
The answer may not be so clear-cut.
At West Point, Cooper was taught to always choose the “tougher right,” and the Soldier’s Creed also stated that Cooper was a “defender of liberty and the American way of life” and “never leave a fallen comrade.” It says, “No.” He never admits defeat” and “Never gives up.”
Frank Witsil: 313-222-5022 or fwitsil@freepress.com.
